CitytisticsShortlist

Pollock Pines, CA vs West Clarkston-Highland, WA

Pollock Pines

California

vs

West Clarkston-Highland

Washington

Across 34 directional measures we can compare, Pollock Pines leads on 15 and West Clarkston-Highland on 19. Counting measures is not an overall verdict: their importance depends on your priorities. Median rent is 15% higher in Pollock Pines, and so is median household income.

Median gross rent
$1,281$1,114
Pollock Pines is 15% higher
Median household income
$74,924$51,860
Pollock Pines is 44% higher
Median home value
$394,000$282,500
Pollock Pines is 39% higher

The Citytistics read

  • After the median rent, with other prices set to the US average, the median household has about $58,500 a year left in Pollock Pines and $40,500 in West Clarkston-Highland. Money goes further in Pollock Pines, by about $18,000 a year.
  • A household earning Pollock Pines's median of $74,924 would need about $69,000 in West Clarkston-Highland to keep the same money after rent and local prices.
  • Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, rent and pay rose at about the same pace in Pollock Pines, and rent outran pay by 2.4 points a year in West Clarkston-Highland.

How these are calculated

CaliforniaWashingtonWest Clarkston-Highland, WAPollock Pines, CAPollock PinesWest Clarkston-HighlandPollock PinesWest Clarkston-Highland

Which fits you?

Both start on the Citytistics Index (CTX). Move the sliders to weigh what matters to you and the score becomes your own mix.

Your weights

Top 2 of 2 matching places. Places in the top 1% show their national rank.

#PlaceCTXAffordabilityEconomyEducationSafetyCommuteAmenitiesGrowth
01Pollock Pines, CAComposite 36.2 / 100
16
354522n/a1450n/a
02West Clarkston-Highland, WAComposite 31.7 / 100
10
174012n/a999n/a

CTX is the Citytistics Index: better than that share of the places we rate. It tops out at 99, so the top 1% show their national rank (#1 is best). Change any weight to rank on your own mix. How the CTX is built

Every measure

The dots show where each place sits among the 6,645 places we track. The bar is the median. A small dot after a value marks the better one.

MeasurePollock PinesWest Clarkston-HighlandAmong all places
Cost of living
Median gross rent1$1,281$1,114
Rent to income120.5%25.8%
Property tax rate10.7%0.7%
Home price to income15.3x5.5x
Prices vs US average2106.791.2
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3$2,201$1,234
HUD area median income4$124,000n/a
Housing
Property tax paid (median)1$2,584$2,102
Median home value1$394,000$282,500
Home prices, 1-year change50.5%4.4%
Home prices, 5-year change531.7%52.6%
Homeownership173.0%67.8%
Renters paying 30%+146.0%57.4%
Owner costs with a mortgage1$2,003$1,247
Vacant homes116.9%6.8%
Median year built119771977
Jobs and income
Median household income1$74,924$51,860
Income per person1$41,923$32,182
Unemployment15.1%4.2%
Average annual pay6$68,436$57,299
Pay growth, 1 year63.3%5.1%
Jobs659,2036,693
Poverty rate116.7%18.1%
Mean commute132 min13 min
Works from home114.6%9.5%
Commutes by transit10.0%0.3%
People
Population16,2125,444
Median age140.846.5
Bachelor's or higher120.6%16.2%
High school or higher188.4%88.6%
Household size12.32.3
Born abroad18.3%2.7%
No health insurance18.1%7.4%
Homes with broadband189.9%84.8%
Moving
Moved here in the past year14.3%7.5%
Moved from another state11.0%5.1%
Net movers per 1,000 people71.10.6
Income of households moving in7$116,757$62,918
Income of households moving out7$94,958$54,626
Local life
Restaurants and bars per 10k823.015.6
Shops per 10k827.118.7
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k85.83.6
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k818.916.5
Child care centers per 10k82.73.1
Parks per 10k96.47.3
Playgrounds per 10k90.00.0
Grocery stores per 10k93.20.0
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k914.53.7
Libraries per 10k91.60.0
Named paths and bike trails90.00.0
Transit stops per sq mi91.70.0
Nearest National Park Service site1076.211.8
National Park Service sites within 60 miles1001
National Register listings11228
Schools
Public schools12212
Public school students125863,152
Students per teacher1220.918.4
Climate
July average high1386°F85°F
January average low1333°F26°F
Average temperature1354°F49°F
Annual precipitation1345.4 in16.8 in
Hazards and air
Natural hazard risk1491.417.9
Tornado risk1413.76.9
Wildfire risk1499.789.4
Heat wave risk1468.053.8
Median air quality index154042
Good air days1587.7%61.9%

Data bundle checked 2026-11-14; individual source vintages vary. Rent needed at the 30% line: Pollock Pines $51,240, West Clarkston-Highland $44,560 a year.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  3. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  4. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  5. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  6. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  7. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  8. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  9. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  10. National Park Service sites · Wikidata (CC0), units operated by the National Park Service · Retrieved 2026-11
  11. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  12. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  13. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  14. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  15. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology.

Keep comparing

Other places people weigh against these two, and each one in full.